Match Report: Puncheon Punishes a West Ham Side Lacking Fight

If there was ever a time for Alan Pardew to return to his former club for the second time in one season, it would be now. West Ham had spent much of the first half of this season fighting for a Champions League spot but have found themselves well off the pace in recent weeks.

Although West Ham looked to be in control against Palace in the first hour, they never really looked like they were going to threaten Julian Speroni to that point — or for much of the afternoon. Although they may be missing the aerial threat of the injured Andy Carroll, it was really the missing performance of Alex Song that was at the heart of such a flaccid performance from the Hammers. It was his worst of the season, receiving a rating of just 6.31 before Sam Allardyce looked to replace him at the hour mark with Nenê, who injected some much needed energy.

But just as Pardew would have wanted - his side were the talk of Saturday for both all the right and all the wrong reasons. Palace started with possibly a little too much enthusiasm as they took time to settle into the game and play with the organisation that saw them eventually take the three points. The fact that they conceded 8 free-kicks within the opening 20 minutes sums up their early approach. The most notable senseless foul was that of Glenn Murray on Cheikhou Kouyaté, seeing the forward pick up his first booking of the afternoon.

Murray was fortunate to stay on in the first half long enough to score his second goal in as many appearances. Early in the second half Dann also directed a header into the back of the net as Allardyce saw all his work on defending set-pieces fall apart before his very eyes. Just past the hour mark, Murray scored his second and Palace's third through a diving header, meaning the Eagles have now scored 17 goals from set-pieces this season, more than any other team in the Premier League.

Mike Dean saw fit to finally send Murray off after yet another rash challenge, this time Winston Reid on the receiving end. Pardew took some responsibility in Murray’s sending off as he acknowledged he did not get him substituted soon enough. Within minutes of Murray reducing his side to 10 men, West Ham pulled one back. Crystal Palace were forced to hang on as West Ham fired in 15 shots in those final 15 minutes.

Although Murray’s rambunctious tackles and Jedinak’s errant elbow will grab the headlines, it was Jason Puncheon’s performance that pushed Palace to collect the three points at the Boleyn. He took to his new role in central midfield as if he’d always played there all his life, having a hand in each of his side’s three goals - enough to earn his highest rating of the season (9.09). Beyond the 7 key passes he completed, he also made 3 tackles and 2 clearances. Following Saturday's performance, it’s easy to see why Pardew plans on keeping Puncheon in this new role.

As for West Ham, they’ve now picked up just 1 win in the Premier League in their last 10 games. They face Chelsea this week and then head over to Arsenal. It's clear that Allardyce will need to get former Gunner Song back on track if he hopes to limit any more damage to West Ham’s season.

Where do you think these two sides' contrasting form will see them finish in the league this season? Let us know in the comments below